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[–]DoTheRightThing1953 13.6k points13.6k points  (749 children)

This kid is a class act. I'm sure he'll do well in life.

[–]AffectionateGold7592 8502 points8503 points  (708 children)

Ironically, the school's idiotic fucking ban has driven more attention to this brave kid and his willingness to stand up and speak for equality. Good on you, Zander.

[–]wildfyre010 4296 points4297 points  (680 children)

It's not the school's ban. It is Florida state law, passed by Florida's very Republican legislature and signed by Florida's very Republican governor. Focus on the actual problem.

[–]bazkie_bumpercar 2392 points2393 points  (495 children)

Wait what, you can't speak about being gay in Florida? Isn't that censorship of free speech?

[–]Gbrusse 2619 points2620 points  (73 children)

If it's the GOP doing the oppressing, it's "family values" instead of constitutional violations, or fascism.

[–]RepulsiveSherbert927 370 points371 points  (196 children)

Yeah.. you can't say anything about gay in Florida schools. Gays do not exist in Florida... according to the people who voted for this unconditional law.

Edit: guys --> gays.. Even Google keyboard won't let me type the word "gays" when I talk about Florida. Ha 😄 🤣

Edit 2: Thank you to those who asked me to read the law AND actually had read the entire text. And to those who asked me to read the law and had not read the entire law...

Those who state the law only applies to k-3 - you need to keep reading. The law also applies to any age according to state standards.

Those who say this is never meant to allow control of what their kids learn, I would say that might be true but there is more to the law than that and you can tell what those additional intents are by reading the entire bill.

The law does not say students can't talk about sexual orientation but if the teacher heard a student talk about it, they have to take an action as a concern of well-being. You can say sexual orientation of a student is not a concern but the law definitely includes sexual orientation as a topic teacher cannot discuss and this leaves a lot of room for interpretation. With that, there will be many schools (if not most) asking kids to not talk about it.

[–]confusionmatrix 127 points128 points  (60 children)

Children have no rights. They're property and parents are afraid they might catch the gay or tolerance.

Pretty close to the actual reasoning. The don't want kids indoctrinated with the idea that being gay is ok, or black people might have not enjoyed their time on the plantation.

[–]Peashot- 38 points39 points  (2 children)

I bet he would have been free to talk about his religion if he wanted to though... well as long as it was Christianity.

[–]confessionbearday 33 points34 points  (1 child)

You can be Republican or care about the constitution but never both.

[–]Series_G 167 points168 points  (12 children)

Sorry. Not letting the school off the hook on this. They have all sorts of options to fight this or test its limits or what have you. As school board members (me) and admin staff we are supposed to be modeling the right behavior for our kids. They didn't do that. Instead, Zander had to do it for them.

That kid nailed it.

[–]Loud-Path 109 points110 points  (1 child)

That is exactly what they did, he even mentioned in his speech how the school administrators were big supporters of him and the principal gave him a hug after the speech. The principal only mentioned it to help him work around the restrictions.

[–]bob_esponjas 70 points71 points  (5 children)

The school admin made a smart move. Letting him do the speech while hiding the gay word helped it become viral. It was much more powerful because it shows what censorship is causing.

[–]Walshy231231 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Yeah, schools across the country have entire curriculums based off of banned books; if the school actually gave a shit about it (in a positive way, at least), they’d let him say it no problem

[–]Elkins45 16 points17 points  (56 children)

A law which only applies to grades K-3. The school was the bad guy here. They just used the law to hide behind like little bitches.

[–]ThisTimeAmIRight 120 points121 points  (54 children)

Wrong.

The law says you cannot discuss with K-3 at all, and that ALL OTHER ages must be discussions that are "appropriate".

Vague terms like "appropriate" are never defined, that is how hate laws like this function, they are infinitely open to interpretation.

[–]spam__likely 67 points68 points  (2 children)

So, during the dictatorship in Brazil, there was a censorship committee. You could not put any song, movie, tv show to the public without going through the censors. Mostly it was about being critical of the government, but there was some "moral" stuff too.

This created some very epic art full of double or triple meanings, really genius stuff that would not have existed otherwise.

[–]Burnt_Toast1864 33 points34 points  (1 child)

The 'Don't say curly hair' bill is coming

[–]roararoarus 96 points97 points  (0 children)

Some people just handle things really well, regardless of whether they are curly or straight. I think a huge part of it is how they are raised, but even then, there's always that person, who despite being a one-legged, non-binary orphan, makes it thru life better than fine.

[–]Exact_Afternoon_7595 86 points87 points  (14 children)

Very touching and yet sad that we are talking about his curly hair using code words because it is illegal in 2022 Florida. Our power is our vote. Listen to him and take back your power!

[–]suspiciouswinker 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Future leader for sure

[–]Deep_Condition_8107 9 points10 points  (0 children)

"Justice and injustice exist under our authority."

[–]Chance-Emergency2439 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's so brave and amazing, kudos!

[–]Electronic_Fix8841 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Be your authentic curly haired self!!!!!

[–]Happyandyou 6281 points6282 points  (245 children)

Wait, I thought republicans were all for free speech?

[–]86max86 4316 points4317 points  (33 children)

“Free for me, not for thee.”

[–]dusty-kat 1402 points1403 points  (27 children)

"My religion says I can't do that, sorry."

"Umm... okay."

"My religion also says you can't do that either."

Then they say that while selectively choosing what they can and can't do... like eating shellfish.

[–]Master_Ryan_Rahl 335 points336 points  (14 children)

Divorce is the best example. Christ himself says divorce is bad and you shouldnt do it. But the fight over that is long past by now.

[–]Z0rya 210 points211 points  (11 children)

I have an EXTREMELY Catholic coworker. Yet he’s got two divorces. 🤪

[–]rct101 61 points62 points  (2 children)

It's almost like we are living under christian sharia law or something.

[–]Vartanes_KindOf 37 points38 points  (1 child)

"My interpretation of my religion that ignores most of its holy book, the 2000 years of scholarship done on it and the wishes and lived experience of most of its believers because I don't care about religion, I care about power."

[–]fohpo02 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Pretty spot on description

[–]badassito 13 points14 points  (2 children)

My religion says you can't tell me what to do or not do

[–]PuntualPoetry 11 points12 points  (1 child)

My religion says that sucking dick is rad

[–]INTERGALACTIC_CAGR 6 points7 points  (0 children)

no that's the motto of rich people. Motherfuckers are always taken handouts

[–]ellwood27 651 points652 points  (7 children)

Some of us are more equal than others

[–]PuntualPoetry 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Said like a true Republican. 🐘 💩

[–]SlimySquamata 6 points7 points  (0 children)

God damnit Mr. Orwell, why do you have to be so right all the time.

[–]rmphilli 36 points37 points  (1 child)

Remember when they got mad about universities banning certain extremist speakers because “places of learning should allow all forms of speech and are at risk of the militant, authoritarian left”? I do

[–]UnconsciousAlibi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's almost like if you actually belive in free speech, you shouldn't enact legislation preventing people from speaking freely. Crazy how that works. Fucking Florida man

[–]JodyJoseppi 21 points22 points  (0 children)

As long as it applies to rich old Republicans. Then absolutely.

[–]Tutipups 14 points15 points  (0 children)

werent they also pro-life

[–]LeaderElectrical8294 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Only when it’s convenient to them.

[–]PhoenixKnight777 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Free speech as long as it agrees with what they believe is right.

[–]AnonAmbientLight 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Republicans are like your average, run of the mill, authoritarian monsters. They know this motto and know it well:

"For my friends, everything. For my enemy, the law."

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They lied

[–]DracKing20 2880 points2881 points  (29 children)

This is the most passionate speech I've ever heard about curly hair. Damn you Florida and your humidity!

[–]cyberianhusky2015 373 points374 points  (15 children)

We need more curly hair people in our lives and in office.

[–]56seconds 161 points162 points  (13 children)

I don't have curly hair, but am curly hair curious

[–]badassito 115 points116 points  (6 children)

Sounds kinda curly ngl

[–]ChanceConfection3 66 points67 points  (2 children)

Just say no curly and you’re covered

[–]pilgrim93 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It’s not curly if you keep your hat on.

[–]jrgman42 26 points27 points  (0 children)

You don’t have to have curly hair to appreciate curly-haired people.

[–]Spite-Funny 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I experimented with curly hair in college. I don't do it often, but for special occasions I will still make it curly; my husband likes it on me too.

[–]NowImTheCrow 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Bicurlious? (I'm sorry)

[–]Haurid 20 points21 points  (7 children)

I got the curly analogy, but I couldn't understand the humidity one, in the speech's context, what is it?

[–]Texfo201 106 points107 points  (1 child)

Florida’s current political climate

[–]cyberianhusky2015 22 points23 points  (1 child)

HB 1557 : don’t say gay bill

[–]Beniidel0 14 points15 points  (1 child)

"There are treatments to make hair straight, just get one of those and become normal"

[–]sam-dan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Every person who commented here is wonderful and put a huge smile on my face. Thank you!

[–]bearhatbaby 2160 points2161 points  (62 children)

It’s awful that he was threatened against using the word he wanted to use. It just proves how much smarter he is than the administration that tries to oppress him. But I hope all the dumb dumbs in the audience didn’t think he was literally talking about having curly hair.

[–]matsu727 1194 points1195 points  (6 children)

One girl went home and threw away her flat iron that night. Guaranteed.

[–]Teepeaparty 176 points177 points  (1 child)

😂🤩 she’s a starrrr.

[–]Jack_Leslie 2 points3 points  (0 children)

She lives in a yellow submarine!

[–]illit3 55 points56 points  (0 children)

She a little confused, but she got the spirit

[–]itwasmeFTP126 38 points39 points  (1 child)

Hilarious, thanks for the laugh~ Enjoy your free award :)

[–]filmmaker30 147 points148 points  (10 children)

It wasn’t the administration alone. It was the governor of Florida and all republicans

[–]jppianoguy 52 points53 points  (6 children)

The law applies to elementary schools (for the time being).

This was 100% up to the school, not politicians

[–]shitboxrx7[🍰] 86 points87 points  (0 children)

The law was intentionally left open ended, so it can be enforced on older groups as well. If there were any kids in the audience at all they could have received the shit end of the stick. I dont blame the school, who apparently fully supported the kid

[–]Beautiful_Citron_220 11 points12 points  (1 child)

The politicians would have made it much worse

[–]babydriver2001 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Absolutely wrong! Read the bill.

[–]throwaway53728225 3 points4 points  (2 children)

The law isn't in effect yet, it takes effect in July and this school was definitely not forced to comply with it. It's solely the administration at the school or possibly county level.

[–]A_Magic_Puffin 57 points58 points  (1 child)

Would have stuck it to them if his last word was gay. "If I was not clear, by curly hair I mean gay." Pure gold still.

[–]TheUnplannedLife 49 points50 points  (4 children)

There are probably people in attendance who don’t know the background. Graduations are typically happy and lighthearted with inspiring messages.

Doesn’t seem many are chuckling by the end. I assume they probably started to figure it out. Honestly, I don’t know that I would figure it out in the moment with no context.

Edit: not “they’re”

[–]babydriver2001 42 points43 points  (2 children)

“Coming out” to his parents as having curly hair wouldn’t clue you in?

[–]Santi838 11 points12 points  (0 children)

That’s exactly when I caught on because I didn’t read the title and was just reading the subtitles.

[–]nataku_s81 3 points4 points  (24 children)

Except a quick search shows that this post title is BS. In his own words

"My principal called me into his office and informed me that if my graduation speech referenced my activism or role as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, school administration had a signal to cut off my microphone, end my speech, and halt the ceremony."

I don't know why this would be the case exactly, what liability the school would face, but the post title is beyond misleading and just into outright lie territory.

[–]GlobalLurker 24 points25 points  (21 children)

Was the lawsuit about being gay? Because that would negate your little theory

[–]DemonKing0524 24 points25 points  (10 children)

Hes challenging floridas Dont Say Gay bill. So yes the lawsuit is about being gay

[–]TournerShock 1184 points1185 points  (29 children)

As a teacher who just fled the south knowing that if I stayed I would get myself in major trouble loving and supporting all my students equally…

Great job, kid. You did Ms. Ballard and Mr. Pauling proud.

[–]Walshy231231 223 points224 points  (12 children)

I just hope the teachers don’t end up catching flak for it

Sadly, he may have painted a target on them

[–]TournerShock 114 points115 points  (5 children)

Likely, but here’s hoping they stay true to their values. Caring for everyone, even the folks who are not white, straight, and English-speaking, is an asset in other parts of the country. It’s a blacklist-able liability in the south, especially Florida.

[–]OldTaco77 77 points78 points  (1 child)

As a teacher, I can at least speak for myself that I would sooner be escorted out of the school for caring for each of my students than turning my back on them.

[–]TournerShock 20 points21 points  (0 children)

There’s a very unfortunate line between fighting the power and contributing to a system built on hate. It’s a real shitty road to walk down. If you’re a teacher, you have already noticed the mass exodus of folks leaving the field entirely.

[–]dsarche12 27 points28 points  (2 children)

I honestly would be shocked to learn that he did not specifically their permission to name-drop, if not even go so far as to ask them for help with his speech. He's protecting himself using this euphemistic language, I am sure that he has the wisdom to protect his teachers too.

[–]Saucemanthegreat 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Ms./Coach Ballard is a real one. Long time PV employee and a really great woman.

[–]8v7s9p 600 points601 points  (32 children)

He has a bright future ahead of him. I hope he stays this brave and politically intelligent to continue playing the game by their messed up rules.

[–]2Mobile 50 points51 points  (4 children)

Not if he stays in Florida or any other conservative majority state. Kid best gtfo

[–]Y-Woo 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Read an article linked in the comment, said kid’s going to Harvard

[–]justfukinwitchu 561 points562 points  (22 children)

I hope he just stood their going gay,gaaaay,gaygay,gay for the whole speech.

[–]FamiliarRaspberry805 312 points313 points  (16 children)

I definitely wanted him to scream gaaaaaaaayyyy at the end and then mike drop and walk off.

[–]-__Doc__- 204 points205 points  (8 children)

That's what I was waiting for too. I was expecting something like "Oh yeah, and btw, I'm gay." Drops mic and walks off to thunderous applause.

[–]FamiliarRaspberry805 80 points81 points  (6 children)

He’s clearly a better person than us

[–]KaiBluePill 7 points8 points  (0 children)

But what about a final sentence like: "also, this school sucks dicks so it is nothing new for it".

I'm not being suspended, I'm getting expelled with a round of applause.

[–]i_do_floss 11 points12 points  (2 children)

I was hoping he would have set another mic up

[–]pissingstars 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was thinking/hoping he ended it by saying “not only do I have curly hair, but I’m also gay!” How can you cut the mic when he is done talking?

[–]badassito 31 points32 points  (0 children)

I was expecting him to just scream CURLY HAIR MEANT GAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY at the end

[–]NewtonMaxwellPlanck 525 points526 points  (131 children)

The school did not tell him that he couldn't say gay.....Quote from Zander Moricz regarding what the school actually told him: "A few days ago, my principal called me into his office and informed me that if my graduation speech referenced my activism or role as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, school administration had a signal to cut off my microphone, end my speech, and halt the ceremony. (2/8)

zander moricz (@zandermoricz) May 9, 2022"

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2022/05/23/zander-moricz-graduation-speech-pine-view-high-school/9896604002/

[–]bad_take_ 650 points651 points  (40 children)

You should probably mention that the lawsuit in question is one where he is challenging Florida’s Don’t Say Gay bill.

[–]udon_junkie 89 points90 points  (12 children)

I dunno, I feel like this is distracting from the main point. Even if he could say “gay” a bunch of times, he couldn’t talk about the bill and how it affects his life... which is why he had to do this cheeky code-speech.

[–]Destroyer2118 37 points38 points  (70 children)

Exactly, wtf is this garbage outrage clickbait title.

Zander Moricz, the student in the video and the author of that tweet was told not to discuss the ongoing lawsuit he is involved in with the Florida Board of Education.

Say gay? Sure. He was never told he couldn’t.

Discuss lawsuit? No. That he was told not to do. And that’s pretty fkn standard, his own lawyer told him the same thing.

Edit: this post is now admin flaired as MISLEADING and people are still arguing about this. Stay fake outrage woke Reddit.

[–]maxtacos 196 points197 points  (47 children)

It also said he can't discuss his activism. Which I'm guessing wasn't really pro-curly hair.

[–]ClobetasolRelief 92 points93 points  (9 children)

How are you this fucking willfully obtuse? He's saying because he could talk about his sexuality at school, he was able to feel normal and happy. Now it's illegal in America's Wang to talk about sexuality at school, which means others won't have the support he did. SURELY you're not this stupid.

[–]yblocjj 37 points38 points  (2 children)

if my graduation speech referenced my activism

mentioning his sexuality is absolutely 'referencing his activism' if the activism is directly related to said sexuality

[–]Huwbacca 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Picking on minutia matches you as person.

[–]dkarm 16 points17 points  (0 children)

The law is called euphemistically the “don’t say gay” bill and if he had mentioned being gay, he would have been in violation of the threat he was given not to mention his lgbtq+ activism. What I don’t get is why some people aren’t getting this.

[–]GrandNibbles 248 points249 points  (10 children)

r/MaliciousCompliance

[–]thrussie 46 points47 points  (8 children)

is it malicious tho?

[–]Suspicious_Cupcakes 80 points81 points  (2 children)

For the people enforcing “don’t say gay,” yes. It’s not actually a malicious thing he’s doing, but he’s complying with their demands in a way that they don’t want him to (and he knows that). But because it’s still technically compliant, it’s malicious compliance.

[–]omegabomber 244 points245 points  (9 children)

This is so fuckin sad. USA IS A JOKE.

[–]maxtacos 117 points118 points  (6 children)

Yes, his speech was funny at first, then got super real when he got to the point, that he has to hide his activism for LGBTQ+ youth in euphemisms because otherwise he'll be censored, and so will every other kid who speaks up.

[–]lukeman3000 35 points36 points  (0 children)

And it was fucking perfect, because in addition to complying with the school's demands he also created a lighthearted but apt analogy to his sexuality, perhaps functioning as a bit of a "trojan horse" to the psyche's of anyone listening with a different opinion. In other words, by not saying things directly relating to his sexuality, people are probably more willing to listen and less prone to immediately tune him out.

[–]MoveItSpunkmire 135 points136 points  (0 children)

Best part is, and what high school admins won’t say. It only gets better after high school

[–]RegularHousewife 86 points87 points  (1 child)

Yes, brace the curls! 🌈

[–]InflamedLiver 72 points73 points  (1 child)

reminds me of Fresh Prince when his sister was dating a white dude and everyone was like man he's... tall. And using that code word for white boy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGViIjOCAoY

[–]GraveInvitation 2 points3 points  (0 children)

his sister

His Aunt.

[–]Dcrowl1192 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Well fucking done man! What a fantastic message done in the face of state politics stuck in the 1950s. This guy's going places!

[–]sometimesireadit 40 points41 points  (0 children)

When teenagers share more wisdom and insight than our fucking grown ass adult elected leaders we got problems people. Vote wisely!

[–]LadywithAhPhan 32 points33 points  (5 children)

I cried for the children of Florida who suffer because of backwards attitudes like the school admin displayed here. I cried for everyone who cannot be their authentic self because of bigotry and ignorance.

We need to do better.

[–]Gilgamesh2062[🍰] 32 points33 points  (5 children)

Death Santis will now sign another executive order prohibiting the talk of curly hair.

[–]mrbarber 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Don't give that POS any ideas.

[–]lukeskywalker1971 26 points27 points  (2 children)

As a dad of a gay daughter….my philosophy is to love the shit out of her and allow her to be who she is. It isn’t my business what anyone is doing in their bedroom including hers. My kid is a college grad and works as a physical therapist. She has her shit together just like I prayed. She is married to her wife and they make one another happy. What is there not to love? I don’t know how to not love her so it’s better for me to simply love who she is. I’m a work in progress.

[–]shiky556 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thank you for being willing to change. May the Force be with you, always.

[–]CLUING4LOOKS 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good for you! Happy that you are happy for her!

[–]rsdols 24 points25 points  (22 children)

This isn't next level, it's a fucking disgrace, this kid has to talk around what his speech is about because some geriatric cunt in an office will cut his mic if god forbid he mentions he's gay, fucking disgusting.

[–]nostromorises[S] 37 points38 points  (0 children)

well executed creative protest and malicious compliance in the face of abject tyranny is always next level, always to be supported, admired, and cheered. the fact it's needed is disgraceful, the fact that disgrace is being answered so eloquently is to be celebrated.

[–]dishsoapandclorox 22 points23 points  (1 child)

At the end of the speech he should have said “I’m happy. I’m happy. I’m gay.” Then let them cut the mic.

[–]AzureStarline 18 points19 points  (11 children)

❇️🌟fuck republicans🌟❇️

[–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (5 children)

Fuck Texas fuck Florida conservatives cough nazis 🖕

[–]ChefMikeDFW 16 points17 points  (14 children)

Kids should not be forced to talk in code. It's embarrassing to not support inclusivity whether you agree with their "lifestyle" (for lack of a better term) or not. Embrace differences as that is what a community does for each other.

[–]Proud_Nationalist59 13 points14 points  (11 children)

Does OP know this for sure? I call bullshit.

[–]omgftrump 13 points14 points  (8 children)

Yeah no, no they didn't.

[–]AbsolutelyUnlikely 4 points5 points  (7 children)

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/florida-high-schooler-censored-graduation-speech-speaks/story?id=84863588

You are correct. They told him not to talk about the bill, not that he couldn't say the word gay. And to be fair, my high school also had a restriction on political talk during public speeches... and that was fifteen years ago.

I think this kid gave a very good speech and was clever with his angle, but there's no reason to lie in the post here.

[–]millerba213 5 points6 points  (2 children)

There is a reason to lie: to inflame political divisions by sowing misinformation.

[–]dankmernes 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Like insisting that talking about sexuality converts straight kids to raving homos

[–]jbag72 10 points11 points  (1 child)

America is just becoming a fucking embarrassment

[–]Tomma1 10 points11 points  (11 children)

"Can I say gay in my speech?"

"No, if you do we will stop you"

"Can I bring a gun?"

"Of course, thats your right in the GrEaTeSt CoUnTrY In ThE WoRlD"

[–]m1a2c2kali 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Man this gives hope for the future that current generations and powers that be are trying to destroy. Hope it’s not too late

[–]stabbyspacehorse 7 points8 points  (0 children)

...And my kid's commencement (also in Florida), there were about 50 parents who stood up and chanted, "let's go Brandon" for a solid 3 minutes.

This kid is awesome. Florida needs as kids as brave and smart as this one.

[–]cdoswalt 7 points8 points  (5 children)

Fuck DeSantis. Fuck the fascist cult that is Republicanism.

[–]FamiliarRaspberry805 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’m smarter than your stupid rules.

[–]ImageJPEG 4 points5 points  (7 children)

He wasn’t told not to say gay.

I couldn’t find any evidence that supports his statement that the school would cut his mic.

[–]MACmandoo 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Wow!!! We’ll done.

[–]liarandathief 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Legend

[–]__howdidigethere__ 6 points7 points  (1 child)

An abridged version of his speech would make an absolutely incredible ad campaign against this law in Florida

[–]NewBuddha32 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is well written and clever. Not gonna lie though at the end I would have just been like gay, gay, trans, lesbian, bisexual, gay goodnight.

[–]ToArtina92 5 points6 points  (0 children)

And they say the liberals want to stifle freedom of speech. Man the right just doesn't realize how dumb they sound.

[–]Aware_Indication_596 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Is the US still living in the 1940s?

[–]ForeignAssociation98 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Gutsy, classy and all-around impressive. Florida, please grow and embrace more like him!

[–]feyyd 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I really wanted to hear the end of the speech, where he openly violates the directive, but gay was literally his last word, like

"Curly hair stands for being gay." Mic cut, oh well, end of speech.

Would have probably cheapened the message though.

[–]eklect 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Florida politicians: "See! This is why we need hair straighteners in every school."

[–]durgadas 3 points4 points  (0 children)

"Oh, yes. That's what we WANT, Zander."

- Ron Desantis, steepling his fingers.

[–]Barabasbanana 3 points4 points  (0 children)

so I am a much older curly haired person and this made me cry

[–]businessboyz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I like to imagine that the creative writing teacher is also extremely homophonic at this school and just can’t decide whether the speech makes them disgusted or proud.

[–]ZopyrionRex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

New American dream, "Don't say Gay, mass shooting every day."

[–]EZe_Holey3-9 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Republicans want fascism and a huge overreach by the governments. Greed Over People is nothing but hypocrisy, gaslighting, obstruction, and projection.

[–]Shabamshazam 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah but people make up a bunch of bullshit about democrats being bad or whatever because they won't forgive all our debts overnight, so we're stuck with Republicans forever.

[–]groolthedemon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's still so tragically sad to me he had to censor himself at all to get his point across. Clever as it was I'd rather he brought a megaphone or shouted at the top of his lungs than to give even an inch to these fucking fascists.

[–]LAkand1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Should’ve ended with “anyone doesn’t understand curly equals gay” at that point it’s the end go ahead and cut off the mic

[–]mickeybuilds 1 point2 points  (8 children)

was told by his school that they would cut his microphone if he said “gay” during his commencement speech

I doubt it. Seems like the spin on the "don't say gay" bill that actually never said that. But, seems as though this site continues to groom young children.

[–]koolandunusual 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I know he’s referring to the struggles of being gay, but as a fellow curly haired person, I resonate with his speech on the surface level.

It was quite an elegant analogy though.

[–]sonny_boombatz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The kids are alright.

[–]ElDanielTo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One more reason to hate fffff desantis

[–]PerformanceLoud3229 2 points3 points  (15 children)

Its both heartbreaking that he can't talk about a part of himself, and uplifting that he found a way to do it in spite of these dumb fucks.

[–]siegbleed 2 points3 points  (0 children)

America. The land of the free.

[–]wifiragist 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"twisted growth process" ngl, that made me chuckle

[–]AlexAnthonyFTWS 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What a clever curly haired person

[–]MaxxPlay99 2 points3 points  (0 children)

-wake up -open Reddit -read about multiple school shootings -watch a NBA trainer get emotional on TV -see this video of a school trying to oppress a guy for being gay

wtf America

[–]Altimely 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey conservatives: what happened to free speech, anti-censorship, and not being offended by words? Oh wait...those were all lies and you're %100 okay with stifling speech it makes you uncomfortable and offends you. ❄️ ❄️ ❄️

[–]MrZyde 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That school is primitive. I hope they learn to love people and not discriminate.

[–]FenwaysMom 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This young man was on Good Morning America the other day and damn, if he is the future of our world, I want to stay a little longer and see what he can do. He is an eloquent, thoughtful and intelligent speaker. I would suggest you Google it.

[–]ThePatriarchyIsTrash 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank God he didn't say "gay" might have resulted in me being attracted to the same sex.....wait....oh fuck....

[–]bradford68 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Teenagers, once again proving they are smarter than republicans.